Relatives and friends mourn during the funeral of 26-year-old Ezequiel Leiva, who died in the hospital three months after being injured during anti-government protests, on September 18th, 2018, in Managua, Nicaragua.
The funerals of my Muslim childhood were quick and modest. But I've learned to love the extended gospel funeral. Aretha's homegoing reminded me why.
Yemeni children take part in a mass funeral in the northern Yemeni city of Saada for children killed in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition last week.
Firefighters gather up an American Flag after the funeral for New York City firefighter Lieutenant Michael Davidson at St. Patrick's Cathedral on March 27th, 2018, in New York City, New York.
Tana Toraja, Indonesia: At a funeral in a remote corner of Indonesia, water buffalo are sacrificed in order to help carry the deceased to the afterlife.
Trained celebrants — often with backgrounds in psychology, social work, acting and other professions that emphasize writing or public speaking — are helping families create personalized ceremonies to honor loved ones who've passed on.
How to honor, or desecrate, the body of a fallen foe such as Osama bin Laden often leaves the victor fearful of creating a shrine where the unslain gain succor.
The numbers are still small and even proponents admit to a whiff of fad, but backers of green burials see their way of death as the wave of the future.